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Laurier to host programming during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

Laurier to host programming during 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence

Nov. 24, 2023

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Wilfrid Laurier University is committed to fostering a university culture where gender-based and sexual violence is not tolerated and survivors are believed and supported with compassion, dignity and respect. 

Between Nov. 25 and Dec. 10, Laurier will host programming in support of 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, an international campaign that calls for action against harmful acts directed at individuals based on their gender and challenges gender inequality, the abuse of power, and harmful norms. Gender-based violence disproportionately impacts women, girls, Two-Spirit, transgender, and non-binary people, but men can also be impacted. 

Laurier will fly the Canadian flag at half-mast on Dec. 6 to honour the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. 

"16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence is a space for us to be in community with our grief, take individual and collective action, and amplify the voices and experiences of those most targeted with experiences of gendered and sexual violence,” says Sarah Scanlon, associate director: sexual violence response at Laurier. “The goal to end gender-based violence typically focuses on a call for a shift in individual perspectives and behaviours and ignores larger structural systems and state responses that shape this form of violence. We have a collective responsibility to challenge ourselves, and call on those with power, to create a safer, more ethical and accountable world than we were raised in.” 

Events are organized by Laurier’s Sexual Violence Response staff with support from the Office of the Associate Vice-President: Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and is open to faculty, staff and students at no charge. Advance registration is required for some events. 

Featured Event: Bystander Intervention to Stop Hate-Based Harassment

Dec. 5, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Zoom. Advance registration required. Open to faculty, staff and students. 

Hate-based violence is on the rise and individuals may experience aggression in many forms. In this workshop, participants will explore the five “5Ds” of bystander intervention methodology — direct, distract, delay, delegate, document — and the “Spectrum of Disrespect.” The positive impacts of bystander intervention will also be covered, in addition to ways to prioritize personal safety while responding to hate-based harassment online or in person. The workshop is facilitated by the non-profit organization Right to Be and co-hosted by Consent is Golden, members of Laurier’s sexual violence response staff and the Centre for Student Equity Diversity and Inclusion. 

#CONSENTMATTERS CAMPAIGN 

Social media campaign, Nov. 27. Open to all Laurier community members. 

On Nov. 27, Laurier will join the University of Waterloo, Conestoga College and the Sexual Assault Support Centre of Waterloo Region in the annual online #ConsentMatters campaign. The #ConsentMatters campaign aims to bring attention to instances of sexual violence on campus and in the community. On Nov. 27, campaign supporters are invited to post a picture of themselves wearing their #ConsentMatters T-shirts or using their #ConsentMatters bags, sold earlier this month, or something purple on social media with a message of support. Tag @Laurier, @consentisgolden and use the hashtags #ConsentMatters, #Purple4Prevention or #16DaysofActivism. 

Campus Art Jams 

Nov. 27, 1 to 4 p.m., Brantford: Research and Academic Centre West; Waterloo: Concourse.

Faculty, staff and students are invited to be in solidarity with survivors through art-jam activities, including screen printing, button making, writing notes to survivors for our annual community zine, and other forms of creative expression. 

We Can Get Better at This: A Conversation on Community Accountability and Building Our Collective Response to Sexual Harm  

Nov. 28, 1 to 2:30 p.m., Zoom. Advance registration required. Open to faculty, staff and students.  

Join Abolition X podcast hosts Richie Reseda and Indigo Mateo for a conversation with Julian McCants-Turner, program coordinator at Community Justice Initiatives, about sexual harm, accountability, toxic masculinity and responding to the needs of survivors of sexual harm. 

The event is organized by Consent Comes First (Toronto Metropolitan University), Consent is Golden (Wilfrid Laurier University), and the Carleton University Sexual Assault Support Centre as part of the We Deserve Healing Not Harm speaker series.  

Supporting 2SLGBTQQIA+ Survivors  

Nov. 30, 3 to 4:30 p.m., Zoom. Advance registration required. Open to faculty, staff and students. 

Forms of homophobia, transphobia and cissexism are often connected to gendered and sexual violence, yet 2SLGBTQQIA+ voices are often silenced in these conversations. This workshop aims to help participants learn to support individuals who have experienced marginalization due to their sexual or gender identity. The workshop is a part of Laurier’s Sexual Violence Response Certificate. Students who attend five of 10 workshops offered will obtain the Sexual Violence Response Certificate for their Laurier Experience Record. 

Cultivating Self-Compassion After Trauma 

Dec. 5, 4 to 5:30 p.m., Zoom. Advance registration required. Open to faculty, staff and students. 

Many of us find it easy to feel compassion for others but struggle to feel it toward ourselves. Practicing self-compassion after experiencing trauma can be especially difficult. Developing tools to cultivate self-compassion can create a strong foundation for healing. This workshop explores common self-care challenges for survivors and strategies for treating ourselves with compassion, care and kindness. It will be led by Natalie Guimond (MSW ’18), a registered social worker, therapist, educator and survivor who is on her own healing and wellness journey.  

Holding Space for Stolen Voices Vigil

Dec. 6, 1 to 4 p.m., Brantford: Research and Academic Centre West; Waterloo: Concourse. Open to faculty, staff and students.  

Dec. 6 marks the National Day of Remembrance and Action on Violence Against Women. This vigil will recognize the 14 lives lost at École Polytechnique de Montréal on Dec. 6, 1989, and the ongoing acts of femicide that continue to impact communities around the world.  

The United Nations’ 1993 Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women was the first international statement that defined violence against women within a broader gender-based framework and identified the family, the community and the state as major sites of gender-based violence. We can see the interdependent relationship between gender-based violence, and specifically femicide in its most egregious form, with state violence, genocide, political violence, and war. These systems of harm reinforce each other in a cycle. Gender-based violence and the targeting of women’s lives is often used as a tool by these systems of oppression and harm. We come together to mourn those who have been killed and recenter our commitment to fight for the living. 

Campus and Community Supports for Survivors of Gender-Based Violence 

If you have been impacted by sexual violence, it’s never your fault. We believe you. Campus and community supports are available to faculty, staff and students. Please reach out if you need support.  

Laurier’s Gendered and Sexual Violence Prevention and Supports 

If you're not sure what to do or where to turn, a good place to start is with Laurier’s Gendered and Sexual Violence Prevention and Supports. You can talk with the sexual violence support and advocacy staff about what happened to you. We are here to listen and, when you’re ready, we can give you information about what your options are, how you can find more support, and what next steps you might consider taking.  

We support students who have experienced gendered and sexual violence on or off campus, or before you came to Laurier. You can reach out to svinfo@wlu.ca  

Students

Staff and Faculty 

  • Delton Glebe Counselling Centre: 519.884.3305 or glebecentre@wlu.ca 
  • Laurier Human Resources: 548.889.3385
  • Employee and Family Assistance Program: kiihealth.ca (employee login required) 

Everyone 

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